1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an auto-focus apparatus, an image pickup apparatus, and an auto-focus method capable of automatically adjusting a focus on a subject with accuracy (hereinafter called “in-focus”) based on evaluation values obtained by image data processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical image pickup apparatus in the related art, such as camcorders or digital still cameras, includes an auto-focus control unit or AF (automatically adjusting focus) function for automatically adjusting the focus on a subject. A user can either select imaging the subject with a manual focus or an autofocus functions provided for the image pickup apparatus.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-241077, for example, discloses a lens system that adjusts a focus on a subject manually, and further adjusts the focus with the aforementioned autofocus function thereafter. A type of the focus adjustment is switched manually in the lens system.